August 23

Today found us on a bus bright and early, heading out for our group trip! Erik and I secured seats on the second row, and I wore my sea bands the entire time, so we did pretty well. Our first stop was in Germany at the Deutsches Eck, the point at which the Rhine and the Moselle rivers flow together. It’s a pretty spot. There is a hulking shrine to German Unification there crowned by an equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I attended by Germania. It’s kind of a weird monument and very Teutonic. Germany is apparently not as litigious as America, because one can climb all the way to the top of the monument, where there are no railings. The climb up was worth the effort, because the view of the Eck (“corner”) was very nice.

William "The Great"

The Eck with the state flags of Germany flying in the breeze.

We then hopped back on the bus for another brief jaunt (not) of about three hours and made our way to Boppard, Germany, where we boarded the “Pegasus” for a cruise down the Rhine to St. Goar. The weather was beautiful, and so was the scenery, ancient vineyards and mediaeval castles lining both sides of the Rhine valley. We were a little skeptical about the on-board restaurant, but our bratwursts, fries, and Altbiere were great. Erik successfully ordered and paid in German, but this didn’t seem to improve the friendliness of the cashier, who seems to hate tourists. I think she picked the wrong profession. The climax of the cruise was to be the sight of the statue of Loreley, a legendary siren who lured ships onto the shallows. The experience was marred a bit by sailors of the German navy performing maneuvers in black rubber rafts, apparently deaf to Loreley’s siren call.

Great bratwurst on the boat.

Cute Erik on the boat.

After another three hours or so of bus ride, we arrived at Wurzburg, where we saw the Residenz, the former palace of the Prince-Bishop of Franconia. The palace has an impressive façade and an even more impressive interior. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside, so we have no interior pictures. Just imagine a entrance hall large enough to admit horse-drawn carriages, a vast frescoed vault with allegories of all the continents of the world, and a room lined with painted mirrors. Most of the palace was destroyed by bombing during World War II, but the vault with its frescoes survived. The mirrored room had to be meticulously recreated from detailed photographs taken at the beginning of the war. Fortunately, many of the furnishings and wall hangings were stored in the palace’s cellar during the war and have been restored to their former places. Most of the palace remains an empty shell.

Severine and I at the Residenz.

Beautiful gardens at the Residenz.

The Residenz from the gardens.

After the palace, we drove down to Rothenburg, Germany, a mediaeval town that has been kept frozen in the 15th century by law. Everything within the ancient town walls has retained its timber and plaster construction. There are electricity and indoor plumbing, though! It’s a really neat place, and we had a great dinner there with Dr. Rust and Séverine. We all had goulash with spätzle – only Dr. Rust was too wimpy to have the venison. Séverine and I tried to go into the wrong hotel on the way back, but that’s a story for another time.

Monkey Island, anyone?
I think the voodoo shop is just on the right.